Is Animas Forks Road (CR 2) open?
Silverton ↔ Animas Forks · 11,200′ · Easy gravel. Typically open May 25 to November 15.
The gateway to the Loop from the Silverton side. A wide, graded gravel road follows the Animas River past Howardsville and the Eureka townsite to the Animas Forks ghost town at 11,200′. Passable by most vehicles in summer; washboard is the main hazard.
Highlights
- Animas Forks ghost town (1873) — walk-through mining townsite
- Mayflower Mill and Old Hundred Mine tours near Silverton
- Access point for Cinnamon, Engineer, California, and Picayune roads
History & lore
- Animas Forks (1873) had its own newspaper, the Animas Forks Pioneer, and once joked it was 'the largest city in the world' — at 11,200 feet.
- The bay-windowed Duncan House (1879) is one of Colorado's most photographed ghost-town buildings.
Live status, recent trail reports, the interactive map, and elevation profile load below.